Clips for electrical connectors



Oct. 18, 1955 H. w. ENGLISH 2,721,313

CLIPS F'OR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS Filed Oct 15, 1951 IN VENTOR BY W m wm Uni d States Pat n 2,721,313 CLH S' FOR ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS" Harvey: W.English, St. Paul, Minn.

Applicationoctober 15, 19'51',.Serial No. 251,344

' 3 Claims. or. 339-776) My invention relates to clips for electrical connectors, and pertains more particularly to a detachable clip for retaining together the portions of a bayonet and slot type of connector.

In numerous typesof repair shops; construction jobs, and the like, it is familiar practice to use extension cords to supply electricity for power and light. The extension cords, particularly where fairly longv cords are needed, are frequently composed ofmore than one section, the, sections being connected together by the conventional bayonet and slot type of connector usually composed of two membersw and sometimes three. In that the bayonets are onlyr'etained in the slots by the resilient action of spring contact members, it will be apparent that the bayonets or blades maybe accidentally disengaged from the slots whenever the secfiomalized conductor cord is pulled from place to place to thereby break the circuit. Time and effort are consumed in having to reconnect the parts of the connector, the workman frequently having to descend from an elevated position to do so. Sometimes the workman is solely dependent upon an uninterrupted connection for light, and of course must grope in the darkness in order to re-establish the electrical circuit once it is broken.

It is accordingly a primary object of the invention to produce a simple and inexpensive clip that will effectively hold the parts of the electrical connector or plug together, thereby obviating the foregoing disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clip that will not be apt to catch on surrounding objects and consequently will not be yanked off as the extension cord is being moved.

A further object is to provide a clip of the character described that can be used on connectors of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clip that will not damage the electrical cord and also to provide a clip that does not depend solely upon its engagement with the cord for its retention on the connector.

Still another object of the invention lies in the provision of a clip that is made of material flexible enough to permit the accommodation of various sizes of plugs or connectors, yet frangible enough to permit ready breakage of the clip in an emergency.

Several forms which the invention may assume are exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of my p;

Figure 2 is an end view of the clip installed on a connector;

Figure 3 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of clip;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the modified clip in place on a connector;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a third form of clip; and

2,721,313 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 Figure 7 is a plan view depicting the clip of Figure 6" in place on a connector assembly. I

Referring first. to Figures 1, 2, and 3, the form of clip there illustrated bears the reference letter A. The clip A comprises a pair of spaced parallel side struts 10' and" 12which' are maintained in such relation by means of bridging end portions 14 and 16. Each end portion 14, 16' includes a central U-shaped section 18, 19 provided with a restricted entrance 20, 21. Thus, it will be seen that the clip A maybe fabricated from a single piece of resilient wire, the extremities thereof of being resistance welded together at any preferred locus.

My clip A is designed to embrace a connector B which includes two separable parts 22 and 24, the part or member 22 being equipped with a pair of spaced bayonets or blades 26 which are received in correspondingly spaced slots contained in the member 24. Sometimes the member 24 is provided with a threaded socket, in which instance a threaded plug provided with slots for the accommodation of the blades 26 is screwed thereinto. However, my invention. is intended to embrace both arrangements. In this connection, it is to be observed that in either instance the overall length of'the connectors usually found on the market today will vary from 2%" to 3 /2". It is of course within the purview of the instant invention to. so proportion the dimensions of' the clip A as to fit any particular connector; However, it is also within the contemplation. of the invention to furnish annular resilient spacers 28 and 30,, which may be made of rubber slitted at 32 to provide an opening connecting with a centrally disposed aperture therethrough. If the longest length connector is 3 /2", then the spacer 28 may be /2" thick and the spacer 30%" thick, so that the clip A may be designed with a 3%" length to accommodate the longest connector without the employment of any spacers, a 3" connector with only the spacer 30, a 2%" spacer with only the spacer 28, and a 2 /2" connector (the one shown in Figure 3) with both spacers.

In use, the struts 10 and 12 are closer together than the diameter of the connector B and are slightly sprung when the clip A is being installed onto the connector. It will be apparent that the U-shaped section 18 or 19 of each end portion 14 and 16 readily permits this, and that the inherent resiliency of the wire used will cause the struts 10 and 12 to grip the connector B in the manner best seen in Figure 2. In that the connector members 22 and 24 are each equipped with insulated conductor cables 34 and 36 for transmitting electrical current through the connectors, it will be seen that the resiliency of the U-shaped sections 18 and 19 will grip the respective conductors or cables 34 and 36 to further assure retention of the clip A in place, the washers or spacers 28 and 30 (or any greater number, for that matter) may then be used to fill up any remaining space between the connector and the ends 14 and 16. Once the proper number of spacers has been found, it will be understood that the spacers need not thereafter be removed when the clip itself is detached from the connector.

The clip embodiment represented in Figures 4 and 5 and designated generally by the letter C is basically quite similar to the first described clip A, differing therefrom in the salient respect that the strut members 38 and 40 are not straight, but undulated or wavy. In this way the struts 38 and 40 may be expanded by merely pulling the end portions 42 and 44 farther apart to thereby accommodate practically any size connector without the use of the spacers 28, 30. While it is not absolutely essential to have the struts 38 and 40 curved to fit the sides of the connector, as shown in Figure 5, nevertheless such a configuration further enhances the retention properties of the clip C. In this latter connection, it will be realized that the resiliency of the undulated struts 38 and 40 produce a lengthwise gripping action On the ends of the connector, which along with the U-shaped sections 46 and 4,8, adequately hold the clip C in proper position.

In the'embodiment illustrated in Figures 6and 7, I disclose a clip D taking the form of a rectangular band. Here again the sides 50and52 are undulated, but in a different plane from the clip C. The bridging end portions 54 and 56 may be flat and are provided with a pair of slots 58 and 60, preferably wider than the cables 34 and 36. It will be understood that the individual waves of the' sides 50 and 52 may have any preferred crest to crest dimension and may therefore be readily expanded to accommodat'e' almost any size connector encountered. In this embodiment the corrugated or wavy sides 50 and 52 are stretched until the end portions 54 and 56 pass over the ends of the connector, release of which end portions 54 and 56 cause the portions to grip the opposite ends of the connector. The use of the slots 58 and 60 eliminates any interference from the cables 34 and 36. v

While the clip D may be made from metal, just as the clips A and C, it is thought that its most outstanding advantage stems from the fact that this embodiment may be made from a plastic that will permit suificient lengthwise expansion of the sides'50 and 52 to fit various sizes of connectors, but which plastic is so selected and dimensioned as to break or rupture upon an excessive pull. In this way the members 22 and 24 of the connector B could be separated in an emergency without the user having to manually disengage the clip D. Such a plastic could be of the Cellulose class, which plastic when designed with the appropriate thinness would possess the desired breakage characteristics.

' In accordance with the patent statutes, I have de:

scribed the principles of construction and operation of my clips for electrical connectors, and 'while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A connector clip of wire material comprising resilient expansible undulated side elements, and end bridging elements connecting with the ends of said side elements, the bridging elements containing U-sh'aped sections for gripping a conductor, the undulations of the side elements permitting longitudinal'expansion thereof.

2. The structure described inclaim 1 in which the undulated side elements reside in opposed curved planes.

3. The structure described in claim 1 in which a resilient spacer is interposed between one end of said connector and one bridging element.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 643,670 Miller Feb. 20, 1900 803,819 Getz Nov. 7, 1905 931,706. Stevens .'Aug. '17, 1909 1,090,040 Fleming Mar. 10, 1914 1,520,839 Mulhausen Dec. 30, 1924 1,583,596 Lacklen May 4, 1926 1,757,301 Ferguson May 6, 1930 1,874,334 Nero Aug. 30, 1932 2,461,427.v vKneebone Feb. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS I 415,196 Great Britain Aug. 23, 1934 

